The future of Thunderbolt is USB-C, and this is a good thing

[iMore.com]

Intel has announced Thunderbolt 3 will use the USB-C connector we've already seen on the MacBook.

Thunderbolt 3 arrives later this year once computer makers start shipping devices equipped with Intel's "Skylake" microprocessor. Skylake is the successor to Broadwell, the fifth-generation Intel Core processor that saw its debut on the Mac earlier this year. Thunderbolt 3 offers twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2 ? up to 40 gigabytes per second, more than enough for a computer to drive an external 5K display, for example. Enough to transfer an HD movie from an external hard drive to your Mac in mere seconds.

Full story from the iMore Blog...

 

[HankAZ]

I have no problem with changing, once again, to a new standard for device connectivity. My beef is the cost of the connectors, and the restriction of a single port on the new retina MB. IF the external devices (USB sticks, external drives, etc) are available at comparable prices to current offerings and there are multiple ports on the computers, I say go for it. If not, don't bother.